Podu Cultivators, Forest Staff Clash in Adilabad as Monsoon Sowing Starts
Tensions escalated when forest staff began demarcating land for the oustees, leading to clashes
ADILABAD: Clashes between podu cultivators and forest staff have been reported with the onset of the monsoon in the erstwhile Adilabad district, as authorities intensified efforts to reclaim forest land under the Land Retrieval Mission.
Forest officials undertook operations in Dimda village of Chinthalamanepalli mandal and Lumbininagar in Bejjur mandal of Komaram Bheem Asifabad district, where non-tribals are cultivating forest land.
Discussions are under way between officials and cultivators over sharing of land. Officials have proposed allocating a portion of land for each family’s livelihood from the total area under cultivation.
However, cultivators have demanded allocation on an individual basis for each family member instead of treating the family as a unit. Some cultivators possess pahanis but do not have pattas for the land.
Forest officials have appealed to Adivasis not to participate in agitations concerning land held by non-tribals, stating that lands in agency areas belonging to Adivasis are not being disturbed.
Officials of the Kagaznagar forest division said non-tribals are holding between 15 and 20 acres of podu land, which is classified as forest land. Cultivators, however, said they have been farming the land for around four decades and depend on it for their livelihood.
Officials also offered to permit infrastructure works, including roads, culverts, borewells and electricity supply, in Dimda and Lumbininagar if cultivators surrender half of the land under their occupation. Kagaznagar forest division officer Appaiah held talks with cultivators in Lumbininagar.
In a separate incident, Adivasis of Gondguda hamlet in Nachanellapur village of Kadam mandal in Nirmal district opposed allocation of land they were cultivating to Adivasi families displaced from the core area of Kawal Tiger Reserve and rehabilitated at Maddipadaga.
Tensions escalated when forest staff began demarcating land for the oustees, leading to clashes. Police arrested 20 Adivasis from Nachanellapur for allegedly obstructing officials.
Former Adilabad MP and Rajgond Seva Samiti state president Soyam Bapu Rao submitted a memorandum to ITDA project officer Manda Makarandu, alleging that forest officials were creating divisions among Adivasis and not ensuring justice to those displaced from the Kawal Tiger Reserve.
